THATTA, April 18 The first wind mill project of the country is scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on April 19 (today). The project is being installed by a Turkish company in the hilly area of Kohistan near Jhampir in Thatta district.

The project envisages erection of 59 turbine towers that will generate over 49 megawatts of electricity. The first tower has already started generation of electricity that is being supplied to Hesco through Jhampir grid station.

Briefing the journalists at the site on Saturday, Chief Executive Officer, Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB), Arif Allauddin and Corporate Communication Manager, Zorlu Energy Group, Sebnem Erverdi, said that a new chapter is being written in the history of Pakistan that has started from this backward district of Pakistan in Sindh province.

They said that Pakistan was facing energy crisis and it imported oil worth Rs11 billion for the power plants during last one year. They said that 50,000MW electricity can be generated through wind mills in Thatta corridor where wind speed is 7.4 metres per second.

They said that this is the standard air corridor of the world and can generate electricity through wind mills. They said that so far, Pakistan was far behind in electricity generation through alternate energy but the first milestone has been achieved by installing wind mill project in Thatta district.

They said that India had started producing electricity through alternate energy in 1982, USA in 1940 and Europe in 1923, while AEDB was established in Pakistan in 2003.

Arif Allauddin said that 80 ton steel has been used in the foundation of a single tower in Jhampir, while the tower and blades weight 63 tons.

He said that the plant will start generation of 6MW from five towers in the first phase and the total capacity of 50 towers of the plant is 49MW. He said that the project would be completed at an estimated cost of 124 million dollars in 2010.

DCO Manzoor Ali Shaikh, DPO Munir Shaikh, MNA Abdul Wahid Soomro and other concerned government officials visited the site on Saturday and supervised the arrangements for the visit of the prime minister on Sunday.